Can I make my tank safe with a GFCI extension cord?

wagohn · 06/09/2011, 02:18 PM

Hi all,

I had an incident last week with my tank where a leaky filter dripped water onto my electrical connections at the back of the tank. The saltwater landed on a power strip and we awoke to the smell of "burning" in the house. The faint smell led me to the culprit under my tank - the power strip was blackened and partially melted but luckily for us held together. So, I am now looking at installing some kind of GFCI protection but I am not 100% sure on how it works. If I buy one of these power strips with a built-in GFCI protection:

http://www.marinedepot.com/Tower_Sho...FIMIGF-vi.html

1. Can I hook up 2 power strips to this one GFCI protected strip and have all connected pumps etc GFCI protected? In other words would the pump in this schematic be GFCI protected?

PUMP -> Reg Power Strip -> GFCI Power Strip

2. If I have my arm in the tank and something in the tank fails/shorts in the tank itself, would the GFCI protect me?

Thanks all !

vorm · 06/09/2011, 04:45 PM

1) Yes, that will work, anything plugged into the GFCI cord would be protected. You can buy those at Home Depot/Lowes. However, it you can get to the electrical outlet, even better would be to replace it with a GFCI outlet.

2) Yes, that's pretty much the whole point of having it.

Anytime there is a short or electricity is going someplace that it's not supposed to, the GFCI will trip and kill the power. This protects you from getting fried and it from burning down your house should something like happened with the filter ever happen again.

ColaAddict · 06/09/2011, 05:01 PM

Thanks to my GFCI, when I had an overflow, and water hit the extension, power was immediately cut off before anything shorts, including the pump. If pump wasn't shut off, more water would have flooded, or worse electrocution.

firebirdude · 06/09/2011, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vorm

However, it you can get to the electrical outlet, even better would be to replace it with a GFCI outlet.

That's what I would do. A third of the price too.

89Foxbody · 06/09/2011, 08:18 PM

I had a similar issue, some salt creep fell off the back of my tank and into a power strip, melted the middle of it pretty good. I smelled it first, then heard the sizzling, popping. Went out and bought a GFCI the next day. The peace of mind is worth it.

gweston · 06/10/2011, 12:53 PM

My electrician said that old GFCI's tended to fail in the on position. So power continued to function if the unit failed. The newer ones fail in a default off position, so if the GFCI unit fails, the outlet will be dead. Makes sense protection wise.

One thing I found, is the plug-in GFCI adapter I have will trip when I have a power flash or outage. While it protects the equipment, if I had that on my main tank, my tank would go powerless even on the most minor power hiccup. Potentially that could lead to disaster if I was away for a long while and didn't realize the power went out.

I think the in-wall (or better quality) GFCI outlets may be less sensitive. But that is just a guess on my part. They should trip when there is a short. Not every time there is a power interruption.

Agu · 06/10/2011, 01:39 PM

My in wall GFCIs have never tripped due to a power outage. And there's something about the power grid I'm on that has caused several short power outages from 5 seconds to 20 minutes long. I agree that if you can go inwall that's a better option.

GFCI extension cords for the construction industry are often designed to trip after an outage. It's a safety feature to keep a power tool from restarting unexpectedly.

If you're competent with electricity you can also fabricate something like this ...

Tschupe · 06/10/2011, 01:41 PM

Home depot has those for 25$

speer · 06/10/2011, 02:01 PM

I've used both in wall as well as the power strip GFCI. I prefer the in wall as they are pretty easy to install if you are a little handy. You can also have an electrician do it for you. The small investment is definitely worth no losing your life or house over.

nemokeeper · 06/10/2011, 04:56 PM

that is pretty cool way to fabricate.... i like how it looks...

06/09/2011, 02:18 PM	#1
wagohn Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 108	Can I make my tank safe with a GFCI extension cord? Hi all, I had an incident last week with my tank where a leaky filter dripped water onto my electrical connections at the back of the tank. The saltwater landed on a power strip and we awoke to the smell of "burning" in the house. The faint smell led me to the culprit under my tank - the power strip was blackened and partially melted but luckily for us held together. So, I am now looking at installing some kind of GFCI protection but I am not 100% sure on how it works. If I buy one of these power strips with a built-in GFCI protection: http://www.marinedepot.com/Tower_Sho...FIMIGF-vi.html 1. Can I hook up 2 power strips to this one GFCI protected strip and have all connected pumps etc GFCI protected? In other words would the pump in this schematic be GFCI protected? PUMP -> Reg Power Strip -> GFCI Power Strip 2. If I have my arm in the tank and something in the tank fails/shorts in the tank itself, would the GFCI protect me? Thanks all !

06/09/2011, 08:18 PM	#5
89Foxbody Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Norwich, CT Posts: 1,532	I had a similar issue, some salt creep fell off the back of my tank and into a power strip, melted the middle of it pretty good. I smelled it first, then heard the sizzling, popping. Went out and bought a GFCI the next day. The peace of mind is worth it. __________________ Red Sea Max 130D Mixed Reef: ReefKeeper2, Rapid-LED retrofit, MiniMaxx Reactor, Tunze 9001 Skimmer, 2x Jebao RW-4, 2x Maxi-Jet 600 returns, 2x Koralia Nano 425

06/10/2011, 01:39 PM	#7
Agu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Sarasota, Florida Posts: 30,279	My in wall GFCIs have never tripped due to a power outage. And there's something about the power grid I'm on that has caused several short power outages from 5 seconds to 20 minutes long. I agree that if you can go inwall that's a better option. GFCI extension cords for the construction industry are often designed to trip after an outage. It's a safety feature to keep a power tool from restarting unexpectedly. If you're competent with electricity you can also fabricate something like this ... __________________ Less technology , more biology . Current Tank Info: 30 gallon half cube and 5.5, both reef tanks

06/10/2011, 01:41 PM	#8
Tschupe Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: chandler, AZ Posts: 1,144	Home depot has those for 25$ __________________ TIM Current Tank Info: 29 biocube. Rkl with alc. mp-10. DIY CREE LEDs. Tunze 9002. 10 gallon with kessil 150 ocean blue

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06/09/2011, 04:45 PM	#2
vorm Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 210	1) Yes, that will work, anything plugged into the GFCI cord would be protected. You can buy those at Home Depot/Lowes. However, it you can get to the electrical outlet, even better would be to replace it with a GFCI outlet. 2) Yes, that's pretty much the whole point of having it. Anytime there is a short or electricity is going someplace that it's not supposed to, the GFCI will trip and kill the power. This protects you from getting fried and it from burning down your house should something like happened with the filter ever happen again.

06/09/2011, 05:01 PM	#3
ColaAddict Moved On Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Northbrook Posts: 370	Thanks to my GFCI, when I had an overflow, and water hit the extension, power was immediately cut off before anything shorts, including the pump. If pump wasn't shut off, more water would have flooded, or worse electrocution.

06/10/2011, 12:53 PM	#6
gweston Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Gardner, MA Posts: 961	My electrician said that old GFCI's tended to fail in the on position. So power continued to function if the unit failed. The newer ones fail in a default off position, so if the GFCI unit fails, the outlet will be dead. Makes sense protection wise. One thing I found, is the plug-in GFCI adapter I have will trip when I have a power flash or outage. While it protects the equipment, if I had that on my main tank, my tank would go powerless even on the most minor power hiccup. Potentially that could lead to disaster if I was away for a long while and didn't realize the power went out. I think the in-wall (or better quality) GFCI outlets may be less sensitive. But that is just a guess on my part. They should trip when there is a short. Not every time there is a power interruption.

06/10/2011, 02:01 PM	#9
speer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 82	I've used both in wall as well as the power strip GFCI. I prefer the in wall as they are pretty easy to install if you are a little handy. You can also have an electrician do it for you. The small investment is definitely worth no losing your life or house over.

06/10/2011, 04:56 PM	#10
nemokeeper Registered Member. Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: nyc Posts: 84	that is pretty cool way to fabricate.... i like how it looks...